Joan and Aaron Liberman established a scholarship fund last year to reward UCF health services administration graduate students who are exceptional writers.
The couple – Joan, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice, and Aaron, a professor of health services administration and former department chair at UCF – launched the “Joan S. and Aaron Liberman Scholarship Fund” with a gift of $10,000 to the university.
Friends, colleagues and former students went on to contribute to the fund as well.
To thank these donors and demonstrate their unwavering commitment to UCF, the Libermans recently made another gift to UCF to bring the fund’s total to $25,000. At this level, the fund is fully endowed and will provide scholarships for UCF students in perpetuity.
The scholarships will support full-time master’s degree students preparing for careers in health services administration. Scholarship applicants must submit an original paper discussing the most important challenges facing the nation’s health care industry.
“Joan and I both believe strongly in the importance of writing skills as evidence of one’s critical thinking capability,” said Aaron, a prolific author himself.
The scholarship recipients will work in a field the Libermans both know well. Before joining the UCF faculty in 1996, Aaron spent more than two decades working as a health care executive. He also taught in the California State University System, owned and operated his own business, and served in the U.S. Air Force.
Joan has devoted much of her career to the well-being of others. She earned an undergraduate degree in dietetics and nutrition and a master’s degree social work. She is currently a psychotherapist in Orlando.
The Libermans met as students at Baylor University in 1963 and celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary in July. They have two grown children and three grandchildren.
The first Liberman scholarship will be awarded in 2013–14.
“The importance of scholarships like this cannot be overstated,” said Michael Frumkin, dean of the College of Health and Public Affairs. “Joan and Aaron’s generous gift will help lessen the financial burden of graduate school for generations of students. I am deeply grateful for their commitment to our students and the university.”